2003 Australian Drivers' Championship

The 2003 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of cars conforming to Formula 4000 regulations.^[1] The title was contested over a six-round, twelve race series which was promoted as the 2003 Holden Australian Drivers' Championship for the CAMS Gold Star.^[1] It was the 47th Australian Drivers' Championship.^[2]

New Zealander Daniel Gaunt won the championship^[2] driving three different Reynards for two different teams over the course of the season. Gaunt only won two of the twelve races but achieved a race finishing consistency his rivals lacked and finished eight points ahead of his nearest rivals. Second place was tied between Jonny Reid and Paul Trengove,^[3] both driving Reynards.

Apart from the seven wins claimed by Gaunt and Reid, three wins were taken by another New Zealander, Nelson Hartley (Reynard 94D & Reynard 97D), and two wins by Ricky Occhipinti (Reynard 97D and 98D).

The 2003 Australian Drivers' Championship was contested over a six-round series with two races per round.^[1]

Round		Circuit	Date	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Winning team
1	R1	Wakefield Park Raceway Goulburn, New South Wales	21–23 February	Akihiro Asai	Jonny Reid	Ricky Occhipinti	Hocking Motorsport
	R2				Jonny Reid	Jonny Reid	Ralt Australia
2	R1	Winton Motor Raceway (Benalla, Victoria)	23–25 May	Jonny Reid	Jonny Reid	Ricky Occhipinti	Hocking Motorsport
	R2				Ricky Occhipinti	Nelson Hartley	Hocking Motorsport
3	R1	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit (Phillip Island, Victoria)	4–6 July	Ricky Occhipinti	Nelson Hartley	Nelson Hartley	Hocking Motorsport
	R2				Daniel Gaunt	Nelson Hartley	Hocking Motorsport
4	R1	Winton Motor Raceway (Benalla, Victoria)	1–3 August	Jonny Reid	Jonny Reid	Jonny Reid	Ralt Australia
	R2				Jonny Reid	Jonny Reid	Ralt Australia
5	R1	Mallala Motor Sport Park (Mallala, South Australia)	29–31 August	Jonny Reid	Jonny Reid	Daniel Gaunt	Ralt Australia
	R2				Paul Trengove	Daniel Gaunt	Ralt Australia
6	R1	Eastern Creek International Raceway (Eastern Creek, New South Wales)	28–30 November	Jonny Reid	Jonny Reid	Jonny Reid	Ralt Australia
	R2				Jonny Reid	Jonny Reid	Ralt Australia

Championship points were awarded on a 20–15–12–10–8–6–4–3–2–1 basis for the first ten positions in each race.^[1]

The round winner for each round was determined by the aggregation of championship points awarded in that round.^[1] Where more than one driver had been awarded equal points, the round result was determined by the placings in Race 2.^[1]

Note: All cars were required to be fitted with a 3.8-litre Holden V6 engine.^[6]

Note: Approved competitors were awarded points towards a Silver Star Trophy based on their finishing positions in each race relative to other such nominated competitors.^[1] These points had no reflection on the Australian Drivers' Championship classification.^[1]

The Yokohama Rookie of the Year Award was won by Daniel Gaunt.^[3] The award was open to drivers who had contested less than two races for the Australian Drivers' Championship since 1989.^[1]